‘Awesome’ museums envy of Tauranga pair
THEY were two refugees from a cultural wasteland.
Carla Roberts (15) and Amy McAulay (14) are from Tauranga, a city with no museum and a council that recently voted not to build one — which is why the two teenagers were in Dunedin yesterday, a city blessed with topnotch museums and more culture that you can poke a stick at.
‘‘Awesome’’ was their response after visiting Toitu Otago Settlers Museum and the Otago Museum.
They later visited Animation Research Ltd (ARL).
The pair won a trip south after winning an essay competition on why Tauranga should have a museum. The competition was run by Taonga Tauranga, a group established to build support for a museum.
Despite their skill in arguing their case, their efforts were in vain.
At the end of last month, the Tauranga City Council voted down a proposal for a $55 million museum project.
Those opposing argued many members of the public liked the idea of a museum, but did not want one with a price tag of $55 million, even if the council’s contribution was capped at $15 million.
ARL’s Ian Taylor said Taonga Tauranga flew him to the city last year to discuss the importance of museums and how to get the city behind a development like the proposed Dunedin waterfront. He was vexed at taunts about Tauranga surpassing Dunedin’s population to become New Zealand’s fifthlargest city.
That was a perfect opportunity to tell them ‘‘there’s more to a city than being big’’.
Mr Taylor was hosting the pair yesterday, along with Taonga Tauranga committee member LeeAnn Taylor.
She believed a museum was necessary in Tauranga for its youth and was ‘‘so inspired’’ by what she saw in Dunedin, Ms Taylor said.
‘‘We want to tell our people’s stories. Noone’s telling our stories.’’
Ms Taylor said the fight for a museum was ‘‘definitely’’ not over. Her group planned to unite with other cultural organisations to continue to lobby for one to be built.